[ndlr] Ouvrage à paraître, présentation de l’éditeur.
The Black Flags raided their way from southern China into northern Vietnam, competing during the second half of the nineteenth century against other armed migrants and uplands communities for the control of commerce, specifically opium, and natural resources, such as copper. At the edges of three empires (the Qing empire in China, the Vietnamese empire governed by the Nguyen dynasty, and, eventually, French Colonial Vietnam), the Black Flags and their rivals sustained networks of power and dominance through the framework of political regimes. This lively history demonstrates the plasticity of borderlines, the limits of imposed boundaries, and the flexible division between apolitical banditry and political rebellion in the borderlands of China and Vietnam.
Imperial Bandits contributes to the ongoing reassessment of borderland areas as frontiers for state expansion, showing that, as a setting for many forms of human activity, borderlands continue to exist well after the establishment of formal boundaries.
Bradley Camp Davis is assistant professor of history at Eastern Connecticut State University.
“Religions in Digital Asia II: Realities, Experiences, Visions”
Centurion University, Bubaneshwar, Odisha (India)
February 6-9, 2017
While one may yet be able to claim that the world has entered the digital age, as approximately half of the global population still lack access to the Internet, we can safely say that the world is well on its way towards fulfilling this term in its various dimensions including the role of digital technology in our personal, social, political, and even spiritual life.
In 2016, the Asian Research Center organized the 8th Annual Roundtable Conference entitled “Religion in Digital Asia,” in which scholars in the field of religion and social communication across the region came to share the results of their investigations and reflections on different themes. The papers included both case studies as well as theoretical analysis pertaining to the effects and implications of digital technology on the religions and their adherents in Asia. Despite the rich and insightful perspectives presented at the conference, by its conclusion, the ARC board agreed that this theme has not been exhausted by any means. Many issues and questions remain for further scholarship by individuals in the field. This is the rationale for the decision to continue the discussion on the concern also as a theme for the 9th Annual ARC Roundtable Conference, which is entitled “Religion in Digital Asia II: Realities, Experiences, Visions.”
We invite scholars to submit paper proposals that could consider for example the following:
How does the nature of digital technology “mesh” with the fundamental nature of Asian religious traditions? Are there any aspects of this technology that are inherently contradictory to the spiritual foundations of certain traditions in Asia?
What is the role of digital technology in the inter-religious dialogue efforts taking place in Asia? Is digital technology being employed in a positive way or is it actually contributing to creating distance and conflict among religions?
Many Asian traditions such as Taoism and Buddhism emphasize the importance of nature in its philosophy and personal self-cultivation, what kind of effects does the digital age have on the spirituality of people hailing from these religious traditions?
Violence either depicted or advocated in the name of religion on the Internet is prevalent. As a region characterized by tremendous cultural and religious diversity, what are the potential effects of this phenomenon on prospects for peace and harmony in Asia?
Asia is said to be the most digitally divided continent in the world because the region has some of the most digitally advanced countries as well as the least digitally advanced in the world. Are there any correlations between digital advancement and religiosity that can be made by studies of countries in the region?
As age old religious traditions go online and communities establish themselves in cyberspace, how does digital technology nourish their spiritual life? Can digital technology enhance personal and communal life of online communities in ways that the traditional communities are not able to respond to?
Rituals are important to religion, and especially so in the Asian traditions. How have rituals been transformed by digital technology, and what kind of qualitative impact does this transformation have on the spirituality of religious adherents?
How have Asian religious leaders employed digital technology to participate in the global discourse on important issues such as climate change, poverty, religious persecution, etc.?
How have Asian traditions/religions employed the technology as a tool of communication to propagate their messages to adherents and potential believers?
Many so called Asian values have their roots in religious and cultural inculcation. How are these values reflected and lived out in the digital age? How might the digital age challenge these values?
What is the relationship between “digital-ness” and “Asian-ness”?
Are there special ways of religion through digital means of communication for migrants and Asians in diaspora? Where, when, how and with what effect?
Are there any announcements or declarations of Asian religious bodies or leaders on digital communication or related fields?
The above questions are only suggestive of possible topics for scholars to engage in. Any other topics appropriate and related to the theme of the Round Table are welcome!
Timings:
Abstracts of about 300 words are to be submitted until September 10, 2016 for peer review. Accepted final paper abstracts are expected until December 10, 2016.
Participation in ARC Roundtables is limited to a maximum of 25 scholars. Accepted papers will be presented at the conference but also published in the ARC journal Religion and Social Communication of St. John’s University, Bangkok.
For any further information and submission kindly contact: arcstjohns.bkk@gmail.com, arceilers@gmail.com or leducsvd.arc@gmail.com with the subject line: ARC 9th Roundtable.
[ndlr] Signalement d’une analyse de Le Hong Hiep (ISEAS) sur les nouvelles perspectives américano-vietnamiennes.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• The milestone visit by US President Barrack Obama to Vietnam on 22-25 June 2016 gave immediate and important results.
• Most noteworthy was the decision by the US to fully lift its long-standing lethal arms embargo on Vietnam. Other significant outcomes include Vietjet’s contract to buy 100 aircraft from Boeing; Vietnam’s granting of a license for the establishment of the US-funded Fulbright University Vietnam; and Vietnam’s formal permission for the US Peace Corps to operate in the country.
• The military impact of the lifting of the embargo is limited, however, as Vietnam is unlikely to enter into any major arms deal with the US any time soon. For now, instead of importing US weapons, Hanoi will probably focus on acquiring US military equipment to enhance its maritime capabilities.
• However, the indication of a stronger rapprochement between the two countries, tending towards a de facto security partnership, has political and strategic implications that are more important than military ones.
• This should worry China more than the arms that Vietnam may purchase from the US after the ban is removed.
• The lifting of the ban will have minimal military impact on other ASEAN member states, however, and the deepened relationship between Hanoi and Washington can be expected to either add momentum to the strengthening of US-ASEAN ties or further polarize ASEAN countries, especially if Beijing responds by expanding its strategic influence over some of them.
[ndlr] Présentation officielle de l’édition illustrée, commentée et trilingue du Luc Vân Tiên du grand poète Nguyên Dinh Chiêu (1822-1888). Félicitations à Pascal Bourdeaux, Nguyên Nha et Olivier Tessier pour cette redécouverte (en 2011) et cet admirable travail d’édition et d’érudition de l’EFEO .
Ho Chi Minh-Ville (VNA) – L’École française d’Extrême-Orient a organisé, le 30 mai à la résidence du consul général de France à Hô Chi Minh-Ville, une cérémonie de présentation de l’ouvrage Histoire de Luc Vân Tiên. Une version unique et rare, méticuleusement présentée et éditée.
Il s’agit d’un fac-similé, complété des commentaires adjoints au manuscrit original, qui a été réalisé au XIXe siècle, et conservé aujourd’hui à la bibliothèque de l’Académie des Inscriptions et des Belles Lettres.
L’œuvre originale est l’unique version illustrée de 139 planches polychromes d’un poème vietnamien intégral, et la seule connue à ce jour. La beauté et la valeur littéraires comme historiques de ce document unique ont justifié sa publication.
[ndlr] Mise à jour de notre portrait biographique publié dans L’Asie du Sud-Est 2016 (Irasec, 2016, pp. 405-406).
Trần Huỳnh Duy Thức est un prisonnier de conscience vietnamien. Né le 29 novembre 1966, il est aujourd’hui âgé de 49 ans (50 ans pour les Vietnamiens). Ingénieur informatique de formation et entrepreneur, il a d’abord réussi dans le domaine des télécommunications. En 1994, il fonde avec Lê Thăng Long la société informatique Duy Việt à Hanoi qui devient en 2000 la compagnie informatique EIS, Inc. Celle-ci développe la société de services One Connection Internet (OCI) spécialisée dans la téléphonie et internet. Entrepreneur visionnaire, il a de grands desseins pour faire évoluer pacifiquement le Viêt Nam sur le plan politique à travers le développement d’internet. Placé sur un secteur très concurrentiel et sensible politiquement, il entre en conflit avec les instances d’Hô Chi Minh-Ville chargées des médias.
En 2005, il crée avec deux autres futurs dissidents le groupe de recherche Chan (Nhóm nghiên cứu Chấn, signifiant “Restauration”) pour proposer des solutions au redressement du pays et accompagner les réformes socio-économiques nécessaires au développement. Promoteur d’un second Renouveau (Đổi mới), cette fois plus politique, il a publié ses réflexions sur la situation sociale et économique de son pays sur son blog sous le nom de plume de Trần Ðông Chấn entre novembre 2008 et mai 2009. Auteurs d’écrits critiques, il a coédité un ouvrage traitant de la réforme politique intitulé « Con Đường Việt Nam » (La voie du Viêt Nam) qui s’apparente à un véritable programme politique visant à fonder un nouveau Viêt-Nam plus démocratique. Son engagement politique lui a rapidement attiré les foudres de la Sécurité vietnamienne.
Après deux ans de traque (sur internet), il a été arrêté le 24 mai 2009 à Hô Chi Minh-Ville. Lors de cette opération policière minutieusement préparée, les autres membres du groupe d’étude Chan sont appréhendés entre la fin mai et le début juin. Accusés d’avoir voulu « comploter pour renverser le gouvernement populaire » comme le stipule l’article 79 du code pénal vietnamien, ils ont été condamnés à de lourdes peines de prison lors d’un procès retentissant le 20 janvier 2010. Trần Huỳnh Duy Thức fut le seul à défier la cour en déclarant avec fermeté : « Je n’ai tenté de renverser aucun gouvernement. Je n’ai fait que combattre le despotisme, et je continuerai mon combat aussi longtemps que nécessaire. » Pour son attitude intransigeante lors du procès il a écopé de 16 ans d’emprisonnement augmenté de 5 ans de résidence surveillée.
Depuis 2010, cette affaire hautement politique a connu des dénouements plus heureux avec la libération anticipée des principaux protagonistes. L’ingénieur Lê Thăng Long, condamné à cinq ans de prison, a été libéré le 4 juin 2012 ; l’avocat Lê Công Định, condamné également à cinq ans de prison a été libéré le 6 février 2013 et l’étudiant Nguyễn Tiến Trung, condamné à sept ans de prison, a été libéré le 12 avril 2014 à la suite d’une campagne d’Amnesty International. Tous restent à l’heure actuelle assignés à résidence et sous surveillance policière. Seul, Trần Huỳnh Duy Thức n’a pas encore été libéré malgré le soutien d’organisations de défense des droits de l’homme.
Le 11 octobre 2013, il a reçu en compagnie de deux autres dissidents vietnamiens le prix du Réseau des droits de l’homme au Viêt-Nam pour sa contribution à la cause humaniste. Les dernières nouvelles le concernant laissent à penser qu’il pourrait bénéficier d’une libération anticipée sous la condition d’une expulsion vers les États-Unis. Les représentants américains à Hanoi sont en effet très actifs pour activer la libération de dissidents importants et favoriser leur accueil aux États-Unis, une solution actuellement privilégiée par le pouvoir communiste vietnamien pour se débarrasser de ses plus encombrants activistes. C’est ainsi que Cù Huy Hà Vũ, Nguyễn Văn Hải (alias Dieu Cày) et Tạ Phong Tần ont dernièrement été expulsés vers ce pays. Le dénouement qui attend Trần Huỳnh Duy Thức est susceptible de prendre la même forme que ses compatriotes expulsés, solution qu’il refuse actuellement.
Depuis le 24 mai 2016, Trần Huỳnh Duy Thức s’est mis en grève de la faim “illimitée” pour protester contre ses conditions de détention. A son huitième jour de grève (31 mai 2016), ses proches ont alerté les médias sur la dégradation de son état de santé. Une pétition a été lancée sur change.org pour exiger sa libération.
Lors d’une visite de sa famille au Camp n° 6, situé dans la commune de Hạnh Lâm, district de Thanh Chương (province de Nghệ An), le 1er juin 2016, le prisonnier d’opinion a fait savoir qu’il mettrait finalement un terme à sa grève de la faim le 7 juin prochain. Ses proches considèrent en effet que Trần Huỳnh Duy Thức doit rester en vie pour poursuivre son combat pourles libertés civiles et les droits de l’homme au Viêt-Nam.
Selon le rapport d’Amnesty International sur les conditions de détention des prisonniers d’opinion en RSVN – rapport rendu public le 12 juillet 2016 – Trần Huỳnh Duy Thức a été transféré à plusieurs reprises de prisons en prisons. Pour l’organisation de défenses des droits humains : “Il s’agit d’une pratique courante dans le cas des prisonniers d’opinion récalcitrants, qui refusent de plaider coupable ou de se laisser « rééduquer », ou des détenus connus ou influents, que les autorités craignent de voir entraîner d’autres prisonniers dans un mouvement de dénonciation des conditions de vie et des mauvais traitements en détention”. Le Viêt-Nam compte actuellement 84 prisonniers d’opinion (p. 10).
Amnesty International (Communiqué du 01-09-2015 ; Action lettre de janvier 2014 ; Appel collectif du 24-05-2015 et rapport du 12-07-2016 intitulé : Des prisons à l’intérieur des prisons) ; BBC (16-09-2009) ; RFA (18-11-2014) ; Sai Gon Giai Phong (18-09-2006) ; Vietnam Human Rights Network (10-10-2015).
[ndlr] Pétition en ligne pour la libération du dissident Tran Huynh Duy Thuc en grève de la faim depuis 8 jours. Pétition mise en ligne par Thao Pham (Australie) sur le site Change.org.
Vietnamese BBC stated on 17th May 2016 that family members confirmed that Tran Huynh Duy Thuc has made a decision to go on a ‘hunger strike until death’ in the Nghe An prison starting on 24th May 2016. This date will mark exactly 7 years since he was imprisoned in Vietnam.
“Tran Huynh Duy Thuc is a blogger, entrepreneur and human rights defender and was arrested in May 2009. He advocates for economic, social and administrative reform, and respect for human rights. In January 2010 he was sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment under Article 79 of the Penal Code (“attempting to overthrow” the state), plus five years’ house arrest on release. During his trial he claimed that he was tortured in detention to force him to confess.” (Source : Ammesty International Australia)
I am writing this petition to request the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Amnesty International, the US president Barack Obama, heads of states of non-communist governments, Vietnamese people and others to take action to save Tran Huynh Duy Thuc’s life by requesting the Vietnamese Government to release him unconditionally.
[ndlr] Arrestations de trois jeunes opposants au Laos.
Lao police have publicly acknowledged that the arrest of three Lao workers who returned home from Thailand to renew their passports for the offense of criticizing the government and the ruling communist party via social media while abroad.
Somphone Phimmasone, 29, his girlfriend Lod Thammasong, 30, and Soukane Chaithad, 32, disappeared after returning to Laos earlier this year to renew their passports, their family and friends told RFA’s Lao Service in a previous report.
“Special police forces suppressed a group of bad people who have campaigned to accuse and condemn the direction of the state and party through Facebook,” the Ministry of Public Security and police announced on a state security television channel on Wednesday.
“It’s true that the three of them were arrested,” a policeman who works at the TV channel told RFA’s Laos service on Friday.
“They were at the press conference which was held only for the state security TV channel and newspaper yesterday,” he said. “Other media were not allowed to cover the event.”
The security channel showed the three making what appeared to be public confessions. They apologized to the communist party, government, Lao people and their relatives for making the mistake of getting involved with the group that protested against the country’s policies.
Lire la suite : RFA, 27/05/216. Reported by RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Ounkeo Souksavanh. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
The Black Flags raided their way from southern China into northern Vietnam, competing during the second half of the nineteenth century against other armed migrants and uplands communities for the control of commerce, specifically opium, and natural resources, such as copper. At the edges of three empires (the Qing empire in China, the Vietnamese empire governed by the Nguyen dynasty, and, eventually, French Colonial Vietnam), the Black Flags and their rivals sustained networks of power and dominance through the framework of political regimes. This lively history demonstrates the plasticity of borderlines, the limits of imposed boundaries, and the flexible division between apolitical banditry and political rebellion in the borderlands of China and Vietnam.
![Lao Police Publicly Confirm Arrest of Trio of Workers For Criticizing State [RFA]](https://indomemoires.hypotheses.org/files/2016/05/MapLaos_RFA-1-672x372.jpg)